Help Children Game Safely: Parental Involvement Is Critical When It Comes to Helping Children Safely Play Online

Help Children Game Safely: Parental Involvement Is Critical When It Comes to Helping Children Safely Play Online

Take an active interest in the games that your child plays and wants to buy. You can research each game’s rating and content on www.esrb.org, maintained by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, which rates thousands of games each year.

Know which safety features are available on the gaming equipment that your child uses—a headset may have voice-masking features, for example.

Keep gaming consoles in an easy-to-supervise location and be aware of other places where your child may be accessing games.

Tell your child never to give out personal information while gaming or agree to meet anyone outside of the game.

Tell your child never to share their login or password with anyone, including their friends.

Teach your child not to respond to anyone who is being rude or bullying while playing the game. Law enforcement has observed a spike in instances of “swatting” which can be extremely dangerous. Swatting is the term used to describe when an online player determines where another online player lives for the purpose of placing a “hostage situation” phone call to police using the victim's address.

Set rules about how long your child may play, what types of games are appropriate, and who else may participate

Have your child check with you before using a credit or debit card online.

Try to use only credit cards instead of debit cards.

Check to see if the games your child plays have reporting features or moderators.

Parents should know that criminals are using the chat and voice feature on XBOX and PlayStation to discuss criminal activity.